Call Out the Man

Ever since I read Wild at Heart and The Way of the Wild Heart, I've had a real longing to minister to men, and help guide boys into manhood. That is the main subject of the second book. It takes a man to raise a man, to call a boy into manhood and to guide Him on that path.

For a while I've had it on my heart to start a third blog focused on what the Bible says specifically to men. It's still about a year away from actually taking shape, but that's coming. My currant focus as I've shared countless times is on looking for the heart of God. I'm journaling and recording my findings as I read, but that's not the only thing that I'm finding in the my Bible study. The other stuff is often what I blog about.

There is a lot about manhood I've seen and haven't shared publicly simply because it's not yet the time, but the blog is coming. Today I want to give a small taste of what I'm eventually going to be sharing, hopefully daily, on the next blog.

In 1 Kings 2, David is nearing death. But before he dies he must appoint one of his sons to be king after him. His son, Solomon, is going to follow him as the next king over the Jewish people. And before he dies, David charges his son with these words.

"I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘ If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’"

David was a man's man. He killed wild animals with hand weapons (1 Samuel 17.35). After he tells those stories he goes off and kills the giant Goliath. His life is marked by war. He camps out in the wilderness while he on the run from Saul. He was a gifted musician, skilled warrior, and a passionate lover. He was a king over a great nation. He wasn't faultless, as we clearly see from 2 Samuel 12 until his death, but David is called a man after God's own heart. He was a leader men followed, fought and died for. Men didn't hesitate to risk their lives for him (2 Samuel 23). And now his son, just out of his teens, must take command of this nation and follow his father.

The first thing David does is call out the man in his son. He tells him to be strong, and show himself as a man. This is a man calling a boy into manhood. He is giving him a statement of confidence. He's saying "Son, you are my choice to follow me as king. I know you can do it. I believe in you. Be strong, and be the man that you I see you to be."

And once he calls forth the man, he gives him instruction on how a man lives. He tells him to walk with God and to obey Him. He encourages him to study and know the law so that he can uphold them. David reminds Solomon that he is picking up where David left off. That David's ceiling is Solomon's floor, and God will do great things through Solomon if he is faithful.

Men must call out the man in a boy. Father's must call out the man in their sons. They need our guidance, but also our vote of confidence. They need to know that we believe in them and see them as men (when the time is right and they are ready to be men). And we must teach them to fear and follow God. We must teach them that being a man isn't about being the strongest and bravest, but about being the most faithful, the lead worshiper, and the most obedient. It's as much about integrity as it is about bravery.

David called out the man in his son. He went on to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and there was peace during his reign. Solomon was able to do the great things he did, in part, because his father, a man, called forth the man in him. Let us, not just fathers but all men, seek to call forth the man in boys. Fathers raise you sons to be men of God, and call out the man in them. All men, take the opportunity to guide boys into manhood that have no man to walk the journey with them. Call forth the man in them.

No boy finds the path to manhood on his own. No boy becomes a man without a man to guide him. You can be that man for a boy. Will you?

To God alone be the Glory!

Peace be with you